500 Works of Art on the Road to Your Creativity #183 – Paper-Thin 09-012

The History:Share what you see and continue the story.

This series was a challenge I gave myself to see how thin I could make the clay before it cracked. It was a great learning experience with various materials. How to slow-dry the clay, when to add engobes, how to handle it before and after the first firing. Also playing with contrasts to enhance the effects of mass vs fragility. They are partly inspired by my teacher’s massive turned plates. I wanted to see how big I could get and so far, only the size of the kilns available to me have been the limiting factor. So, I’m not even close to finding out yet.

The Technique:How I did this awesomeness!

Using porcelain clay and my slap-drag method to pull my slabs, I made rough circular-ish shapes. Then I dropped them over two empty yogurt containers, which were covered in paper, to prevent condensation from the plastic container. The condensation weakens the thin clay and causes it to crack. I then covered the whole with several sheets of newspaper. It is built on a sheet of wood (I often used a bamboo cutting board bought at the dollar store). Then I slip the whole thing into a clear garbage bag and tie the end to allow the moisture to get absorbed by the paper and the clay to dry very slowly. You will need to replace the newspaper every few days. (You can reuse the paper if you let it hang to dry.) After a couple of weeks, you can send it to be bisqued. When bisqued, I painted the bottom with a clear glaze that I heavily infused with pure cobalt pigment powder. The outer edge was brushed with an oxide and it seeped down to a watercolor effect. The inside was covered in a blue-crackle glaze that I poured in and out. It was fired at Cone 6.

The Influence:Confessions of a Plagiarist, sort of…

I was reading a big book on sculptures and it reminded me of how impossible some of the marble statues seemed that I saw in Italy. How could they carve them so thin? So, I Googled it and found paper artists who were making unbelievable sculptures out of paper. I wondered if I could do it with clay. I then remembered China cups my Mom has and figured I could try. So, I started the experiment.

The pursuit of happiness can beWhen you buy The Artist’s Stuff: Prints, Mugs, T-Shirts, Pillow, Shower Curtains, and other awesome stuff.

Books that Inspired and Influenced my Experimentation:

These are perhaps the most obvious influences, but the truth is that my influences run deep through thousands of books and works I’ve seen & read. If you have the time, you are free to visit my GoodReads library to see a fraction of the books I’ve read. These are the ones I remember, that is. Or you can visit the ever growing collection on my Pinterest account.

The Materials:Quick! Order this stuff right now, AND You too can make masterpieces!

CONE 06 WHITE GROGGED CLAY: The Review: The grog allows you to work soft or rigid with ease. This is a beginners dream clay to use.

CONE 06 RED GROGGED CLAY: The Review: This is the least favorite to use. It fires off the red and needs specialized glazes.

WHITE GROGGED STONEWARE: The Review: Excellent clay for larger cultural pieces. It can dry to leather hard slowly enough to work over a few days and is rigid enough for the most architectural structure.

SHEBA RAKU CLAY: The Review: In its raw state, it is an ugly finish. It changes the chemical reaction and thus the colors of the glazes used on it. It has a finer grog in it and is a great clay for beginner hand-builders. Oddly, it loves Pete Pinel’s green glaze. Also works beautifully with matte glazes.

CONE 6 PORCELAIN: The Review: This was a challenge to use. One needed to work it faster because if it dried too fast, it would crack. It’s elasticity while in the wet-leather hard stage was fun to play with and allowed to melting appearances. It took stains very well and loved my pure pigment glazes.

BLACK CONE 6 CLAY: The Review: This worked like a tinted porcelain. It didn’t hold glazes or stains in the way I expected and seemed to give the best results when left un-modified by glaze or stain. It held up well to being mixed with gorged clays. The shrinkage was minimal, compared to white porcelain.

Glazes:

These were usually private mixes from the studios I worked in. I never asked for the recipes. When I graduated to the private studio, under the mentorship of porcelain master Marie Cote, I used her clear glaze as the base for all my experimentation and mixes. It was the most robust and versatile glaze available and allowed me to mix in pure pigments and metals without runoff or kiln incidents. Make sure to ask your local supplier for a stable clear glaze and play with it.

You can play with Other Raw Pigments, but make sure you ask for what’s in them & if they can mix with your glazes. Certain minerals and metals will cause your glazes to crackle or drip off the surface during firing, and some may cause explosions.

Some of my tools come from Pottery Supply House or Sial. Some I made myself. Marking tools really come from your imagination and almost anything can be used. You can spend a small fortune for them or make them yourself. You can get loads of materials from the dollar store to make them.

Brushes & applicators:

I found that Calligraphy Brushes & Bamboo Brushesworked the best and I indulged in a variety of big ones. They hold much more glaze and helped me achieve more uniform coatings when I wasn’t dipping the bisqued pieces. They also allowed me the finer tips for greater details when wanted.

You can easily get squeeze bottles from the dollar store, but the drip control is better with pro tools.

If you are uncertain of what to get, simply order a few or all of the following:

Note: Some of these brushes can be found at local art supply stores as well.

Miscellaneous: I also mixed into my glazes and onto the surface of my clays, asphalt, beach sand, glass beads & marbles, gold, silver, & copper wire, and a variety of metal dust. Some came from pottery supply houses, some from hardware stores, some simply found.

Warning: I don’t suggest you use any of these without supervision, or the go ahead from an experienced kiln technician or master potter. Some of these release gases in the kiln that causes other glazes to change color, drip off the pieces, and they may even explode in the kiln. I used my knowledge of chemical reactions combined with the careful study of firing mistakes to create my results. And, I always had the benefit of masters advising me on the potential dangers.

Photoshop for Mac:The Review: You could use the free “ MAC Photos” program or Picassa and possibly get the same results, but Photoshop offers you the flexibility of presenting yourself as a pro photographer, like no other program. There’s a reason it’s considered the best of the best, after all. So, this allows you the possibility of selling this service to others and funding more of your creativity

Apple MacBook Pro 15.4″ Laptop: The Review: You may choose to get an iMac for the bigger screen, and I couldn’t disagree with the beauty of working with the 24” screen. I picked the laptop, because of the need to be mobile and the flexibility of multi-purposing it to use for client demos. As an alternative to the weight of this model, I would suggest the MacBook Air 13”. Most of us have become accustomed to mobile device size screens and it is much easier to carry around.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T6 DSLR: The Review: My first DSLR camera was the EOS Rebel T3. This one is vastly superior to the old model. Canon has a well-deserved reputation of having top rated cameras. It requires a little play time to master it, and that time will be lessened by defining a clear idea of what you want to do with it, then jumping on YouTube for the multitude of How To videos. If you want a smaller camera to carry around, try Canon EOS M10 Mirrorless Digital Camera OR go small & powerful with the Canon PowerShot Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD & built in wifi.

Canon PIXMA MX492 Inkjet Printer: The Review: For me, this has been the easiest to use for cleaning and cartridge replacement. It works reasonably well with recycled inks and the wireless is easy to set-up. The Canon has worked best for me on ink usage. When purchasing printers, always consider the cost of ink replacement… for the most part, this is the big difference right now in printers. For big reproduction lines, it is better to outsource. For scanning, they are as good as the camera in them… this is one reason I’m a fan of Canon products. It does do a nice job on printing photos on good photo paper, and the black print is crisp and clean, provided you do regular cleanings and keep it dust free.

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“I am a Successographer.
I believe successful people have passion for the work they do.
Their passion makes the work great and I get a RUSH when sharing their stories.
I write to help amazing people get their greatest work into the world."
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This sums me up best... I'm always practicing how to turn a lifetime of curiosity & a passion for sharing knowledge into The New Renaissance Mindset! Along my path, I've developed a passion for art, advertising, marketing, human behaviour, positivity, spirituality, and creativity in every aspect of my life. Lately, this has given me opportunities to coach and consult on these passions, and to add my art to a variety of projects.
I am fortunate enough to live in some amazing communities that allow me to network with Growth Mindset Thought Leaders, Coach Entrepreneurs on how to Wisely invest in their Growth, Brainstorm with Professionals to answer my favourite question: "Have you thought of...?", and I get to play with art materials.
Isn't life just Tremendous?
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